'One day, you will be very skilled. Just be careful next time when you are out at dusk.'

Remembering those words, Mei Ying gaped at the red-cladded cultivator, kneeling in front of her. Her eyes were clear like crystal and bright as though the dark clouds had finally paved the way for her to see the silver light.

Steadily, the young man drew closer. His broad crimson sleeves draped around the maiden, and like she weighed nothing, he carried her off of the rubble-covered body. With a warm face, Mei Ying wrapped her arms around her friend's neck. She murmured her gratitude before pondering on why she did it without thinking. It felt oddly natural!

“When you cannot walk, I will be your legs.” said the Young Master. He stopped. “Xiao Li.”

“I’m right on it.” answered the other.

With Bing Wen dragged aside, the black-cladded teenager set to work. He was swift, preparing the spell array in the center of where Mei Ying and the warrior had fallen. As some spectators noticed, the juvenile’s eyes were cold and dark like a crow’s feather, but his complexion was smooth like porcelain and fair.

Did I also make that…dent? The huntress examined the large bowl-like crater in the once-beautiful white, glittering floor.

Nian Zu was right about her bad habits.

Quickly, Xiao Li stepped away from the glowing scroll. “Ao xiang!”

A great pillar of warm, gold light shot up from the floor cavity, through the gaps, and to the fifth deck.

When the cultivators enter the illuminating beam, they may temporarily hover their way up and enter their hotel room. It was more efficient than taking several flights of stone stairs. But the spell does not have much time to spare. If the task is completed before time runs out, it is up to the user to close the transportation route.

Alongside with the Young Master, the servant had no problem, carrying the more muscular person over his shoulders. Xiao Li passed them a strange glance and lowered his eyes. Although he has not spoken warm words, when the teenager had called out to Mei Ying earlier, he had sounded a bit distressed.

“We should get going.” said the stiff juvenile.

To this, the young man in red nodded.

“If it was not for you, Bing Wen would have burned down this entire building with everyone in it.” When the maiden met his eye, her friend went on, “He does not know his own strength sometimes, especially when he is angered. Seeing that Wei Sheng is here, it is the only normal reaction despite the wrong execution of going about it.”

Mei Ying hesitated. There is always a time and place for her questions. She then recalled that the Young Master did not suffer at the slightest from catching the speeding thunderbolt. It was possible that the young man too is not of this realm.

Any mortal in her friend’s place would have lost their whole limb already. At the most merciful state, they would have been dead while trying to stop a lightning strike.

The young woman asked, “Couldn’t you have stopped him…?”

“Me?”

The Young Master laughed softly as though he was told a joke. Ah, Mei Ying realized how nicely it resonated against her ear as the person carried her. Not to mention, the huntress noted how close their faces were. Still, she did not think he would hear her well if they were not.

“Haha! Bing Wen and I go way back, but I would not have shown him…as much mercy.” At the last few words, the huntress thought his eyes had briefly flared red.

Well, it has been a long day.

“Young Miss, are you alright?” A voice hurriedly asked.

Immediately, all heads turned toward Mei Ying’s way, including the brooding Kong. From every corner of the vast lobby room and even those in the long hallways—the cultivators wanted to know the name that belonged to the young woman. Now that she and her friends are about to leave, everyone remembered her, ah.

The Young Master doubled back, allowing the huntress to face the crowd of cultivators and other spectators.

With haste, Mei Ying replied, “This one is alright. We should recover and get some rest for tomorrow’s events. Apologies for the trouble here.” She bowed her head. “It won’t happen again.”

Another cultivator inquired, “What is your name…and s-sect?”

“This one is …”

The maiden raised an eyebrow. Is it just her—or do they seem frightened? Noting this, she glanced back at her handsome friend's face. He smiled. Mei Ying looked back at her curious audience.

“Pang Fua from the Hong Yuanfen sect!” shouted a small voice from above. “Hurry up, ah!”

Mei Ying wanted to scream at little Wei Sheng.

“What a beautiful name!” Someone sighed, joined by many others. “Clouds that are in the shape of flowers…”

Lowering her eyelids, the young woman avoided countless stares.

Then, bit by bit, the huntress observed Kong, who seemed distracted. Curious, she followed his line of sight—and caught him glaring at her friend. By coincidence, the red-cladded young man was glowering back as well.

However, the Young Master’s eyes were not icy and scornful like the Song cultivator’s… Rather, they were unforgiving and truly petrifying, rimmed with a sweet whisper of undisclosed essence. It was as though there was already a deeply entrenched hatred between the two.

❁❁❁

When Bing Wen awoken, he was silent and sat in the bed. His eyes seemed to have drifted into a faraway place. His clean hair-bun had come undone, leaving long, black wavy hair spilling over his broad shoulders. At the foot, there laid his gold-and-silver pauldrons and leg armor pieces.

The man glanced over to the large hole in the wall that led to the next room over. He then watched little Wei Sheng huffed and huffed, pointing to the various wood and peach coral stone fragments whereas the red-cladded young man laughed to his servant.

Over the warrior’s shoulder, there was a window of star-studded night skies. The man felt for his ribs. He had been magically healed by someone.

“Wei Sheng said he stole your qilins.” Leaning against the wall, the young woman’s fluttering pale-green robe remained spotless. Her legs were no longer in pain. “He fled from home, with servants, to find someone here in the martial arts tournament.”

Bing Wen averted his attention to the nearby person.

“I am sorry. I could not let you tear down the hotel, which can kill the people here.” The huntress explained. “If I did not knock you out…”

“We are not mortals, which is why you had to use excessive force.” There was no point in hiding it anymore. Glancing away, the warrior added, “Young Miss, who are your two friends over there?”

There was no answer as Bing Wen reached over to the small side table. He picked up a small porcelain cup and drank down some water. Setting it back down, the man still waited for his reply.

“Initially...I wanted to help Wei Sheng because I mistook him as a helpless boy.” The maiden was honest. She watched the child shoo the two young men into the giant hole in the wall and back into their room. “I also needed spirit stones. But upon realizing that the Heaven realm was meddling with mortal affairs, I could not leave him alone. My shifu would not have wanted me to turn the blind eye, ah.”

Little Wei Sheng is quite a liar... Though this did not sit well with her, the huntress did not think she could withstand the remorse if she walked away now.

Mei Ying went on, “As for my friends, I do not know who they are, but they have good hearts—”

Hearing this, Bing Wen gave a hollow laugh.

“Did...the Young Master not address you as his ‘big brother’?”

“Young Miss…” Massaging his temples, the brawny man exhaled a long sigh. Narrowing his brows together, the person growled, “He who betrays the Heavenly Emperor…is no brother of mine!”

When the maiden did not continue, the warrior began to wonder if he was too harsh. It was the truth though. Mortals are naïve. Sometimes, being upfront about it was the best way. They are a bit dumb too and make hasty judgments about life, love, hate, money, and power.

It is no wonder why so many people in the Mortal realm are incapable to attaining Immortality at all. There is too much emphasis on brute strength instead of cultivating the heart and soul as well. Any god can see why the mortals fail over and over in joining their ranks.

“Why are you under a transformation spell?” asked Bing Wen, breaking the quietude. It annoyed the man that he could not decipher the person’s true face.

“I left my clan and did not expect to run into them here.”

“Stop hiding and return to them.” The warrior did not want to further complicate the situation. “It’s already troubling when one of our own has changed their appearance too. Wei Sheng should have known better than to involve you in our personal business.”

“If I return to the clan, my relative’s death would be in vain. I need to find the demon king who murdered my Shaman Hua.” Then, in a softer voice, “Besides, I want to help too.”

The man closed his eyes. “I said—"

“Don’t speak to her that way.”

When the warrior opened his eyes, he saw the red-robed cultivator flashed near the huntress. With arms crossed, the young man joined Mei Ying’s side. There was a flicker of red in his eyes. The expression of his face held a quiet but brewing storm.

Averting his glare to Bing Wen, the young man added in a hard tone, “If she wants to be here…let her be.”

It was ludicrous. In the hundreds of years since knowing the person, Bing Wen had never known for him to lose his cool over another except… Upon this thought, he studied Mei Ying’s snow-pearl face and gold eyes.

Wei Sheng and Xiao Li rushed over to the commotion. The child wanted to simmer down the trouble while the servant was there to support the Young Master. In a blink, the juvenile manifested his silver glaive with the red tassel. However, the Young Master held a hand up to stop Xiao Li.

“Young Miss...” A gradual sneer wove into the warrior’s mouth. He glanced at the young man in red before turning to the oblivious maiden. How intriguing...

Bing Wen threw off the silk blankets from his body, pushing them aside. “How much do you know about the Netherworld God, demon ruler in the realm of the dead?”

Mei Ying appeared fixated by the topic. Her face was beaming. “Not much.”

The man hung his legs over the edge of the bed and set his feet to the wood floor. Though the brilliant moonlight reflected off his long, pine-green robe, the person was shrouded in the dark.

Placing both hands on his knees, Bing Wen began, “Then, let me tell you…a story about the Demon King as shared in the Mortal realm…”

Long, long ago, in a far, far away land, there was once the ancient Xieye kingdom, ruled by a cruel tyrant. He only wanted three things: dazzling riches for display, powerful cultivators for his army, and beautiful women for his bed.

During his reign though, there came a vicious plague that washed over the kingdom, killing thousands of mortals. Yet the king refused to share the cure with his people.

Amidst the chaos, there rose a fierce cultivator, who took up a divine magical sword.

As he made his way to the king, the noble young man spilled rivers upon rivers of blood. He wanted revenge for his family, who had fallen victim to the plague. For years, he had cultivated in secret, hid his talents, and desired for a simple commoner’s life. He was determined to save the people.

As impressive as the warrior’s victories were, all the gods in the Heaven realm were both fearful and amazed by the young man, who had slain hundreds of mortal lives and set blazing fire upon the entire Xieye palace.

However, after distributing the medicine among the people, the cultivator had nothing to live for and tried to take his own life.

Suddenly, the Heavenly Emperor himself appeared and slapped the sword away, saving the hero! Recognizing the person’s greatness and suffering, the god invited him to ascend and join the ranks of Immortality.

Unfortunately, the new Heaven Immortal soon became arrogant with his powers. He even questioned the Heaven realm’s path and order.

One day, during a dispute, the hero took his divine sword and struck down a god. With a heavy heart, the Heavenly Emperor banished the young man. While falling from the sky, the ex-Immortal cursed both the Emperor and his Empress.

Sensing the immense hatred from the warrior’s heart, the former Demon King allowed the earth to crack open and swallow the young man up to join the Netherworld.

Instead of gratitude though, the power-hungry warrior challenged the former to a devastating battle—only to win and claim his new position as the new ruler. It was said that in their clash, the Netherworld was forever shaped by their swords and strikes, creating fields of crimson fire, deep ashen valleys, and high mountain peaks of trees with eternal flames that surrounded Feng Cheng. By doing so, the fallen hero also earned the notorious reputation and nickname of ‘Swain King of Burning Blossoms.’

From then on, he only brings death and destruction wherever he goes.

At the end of the tale, there came a gleam over the Young Master’s eyes. He cracked a bitter smile. “Bing Wen…is this really how everyone remembered the Demon King?”

“Yes.” replied the other. “Well, what do you think, Young Miss?”

A mortal's opinion has no importance at all. The huntress did not know what the person's motive was.

With downcast eyes, Mei Ying thought about the lone warrior, who was brave and persistent enough to fight all the way to the majestic Xieye palace. She imagined the tired hero striking down every soldier and cultivator in his path before barging into the extravagant throne room. He had dyed his hands with blood for what he believed in…

“It’s cruel though.” The maiden concluded. “What the Heavenly Emperor did…was not entirely right either.”

Wei Sheng grew pale.

“The fallen hero chose to strike first.” argued Bing Wen. “He made the choice to betray the god who saved him.”

The Young Master was quiet. He seemed deep in thought, with a thin line between his red lips. Pale silver moonlight shone upon the handsome young man whose arms remained folded across his chest.

Meanwhile, Mei Ying tightened her brows together. Was Bing Wen trying to imply something?

Despite the appalled expressions being received, the huntress clarified, “He was forced to live for hundreds of years after seeing his loved ones die. He did not ask to be saved. When people reincarnate, they do not retain the memories of previous lives. He cannot live an ordinary life with them.”

“Then, if he wants to reincarnate, he can just kill himself!” jeered the warrior. “But why doesn’t he? These are excuses for pity."

The maiden blinked. Though the god’s reasoning was horrific, it was a good question.

But this does not sound like an entity who would terrorize a small village and murder people for fun. There was a swimming turmoil in the mind. The young woman's heart tightened as she turned the story over and over.

Unexpectedly, next to Mei Ying, came a loud, excessive yawn. “Well…it was a nice story!" Stretching his arms, the young man chuckled. "We should get some rest for the tournament. Thanks, Bing Wen!”

In response, the warrior snorted.

“You’re…b-both entering?” Wei Sheng’s voice was small and shaky.

Considering the child's question, Mei Ying tilted her head. It was rather unexpected!

Flanked by Xiao Li and his shining glaive, the red-robed cultivator nodded. His dark, beaming eyes crinkled into a pair of crescent moons. Leaning back, the person folded both arms behind his head. A corner of his red lips tugged upward in a smug way.

As the Young Master strolled away, he added, “If more of us join, the chances of luring out your missing person may increase.” They were headed for the enormous hole in the wall where their room next door awaited. “Less trouble in the Mortal realm…and for me.”

Quickly, Mei Ying stepped forward and stammered, “Thank you for everything, Young…”

“Jian Yu.” Veiled by darkness, his face was hidden. Without turning around, the cultivator lazily went on, “But only you may address me as Jian Jian.” He paused, standing still for a moment. “It is an extremely special nickname.”

Gently, the cool evening breeze rolled through the windows and blew against the young man’s crimson outer robe. A trickle of red maple leaves floated in through an opened window, landing at the person’s black boots. In no time, Jian Yu continued to saunter his way back into their hotel room, with Xiao Li trailing after him.